66 THE CELL DOCTRINE. 



formation of the connective tissue corpuscles them- 

 selves. He says, " The transformation of these latter 

 into the former, can gradually be traced with such 

 distinctness, that there remains no doubt, that even 

 the coarser elastic fibres directly result from a chem- 

 ical change and condensation of the walls them- 

 selves.* Where originally there lay a cell, provided 

 with a delicate membrane and elongated processes, 

 there we see the membrane gradually increasing in 

 thickness and refracting the light more strongly, 

 whilst the proper cell contents continually decrease 

 and finally disappear. 



FIG. 17. 



Fig. 17. Elastic networks and fibres from the subcutaneous tissue of 

 the abdomen of a woman, a a, Large elastic bodies (cell bodies), with 

 numerous anastomosing processes, b b, Dense elastic bands of fibres on 

 the border of larger meshes, c c, Moderately thick fibres spirally coiled 

 up at the end. dd, Finer elastic fibres, at e with more minute spiral coils. 

 x300. (From Virchow.) 



" The whole structure becomes in this way more 



Virchow, op. citat., p. 133. 



